The challenges of choosing an OB/GYN or pediatrician — when you’re a Black woman

Race-related health inequities continue to place the lives of Black women and their families at risk, but finding supportive doctors can change that.  I contributed this piece to Today.Com about the challenges of choosing an OB/GYN or pediatrician when you’re a black woman:

As a mom, dietitian and Black woman living in the United States, I am acutely aware of the pervasive race-related bias in health care that places my children and me in harm’s way. Being Black while seeking out empathic, equitable and unbiased medical care takes attention — and intention.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the maternal mortality rate in the U.S. for 2018 was 17.4 per 100,000 live births. Black women fare much worse: the rate skyrockets to 37.1 deaths per 100,000 live births. Breast cancer death rates are also 40% higher for Black women compared with their white counterparts. “Black women are dying four to five times the rate of anyone (else) in this country,” said Tracie Collins, the CEO and founder of the National Black Doulas Association (NBDA) based in Suwanee, Georgia. “The odds are stacked against us. The question is, where are you going to fall?”